“Nature is both perfectly balanced and organised intelligently to create, maintain, repair and destroy matter synchronistically”.
Herbs are often referred to as a Nature Cure; simple but true! A herb grows in the ground, gets energy from sunlight and water, has interactions with insects and animals, and is exposed to the elements of the weather. It is alive, and it has life force and energy! Herbs can raise your life force, your energy, and your vitality because, like us humans, they are alive!
Herbs contain hundreds of chemical constituents, some of which are more pharmacologically active than others. The therapeutic actions of herbal medicines are due to these active components in the plant. Constituents can be classified by their chemical structure, and each class of compounds have their own individual therapeutic actions. When liquid herbs are properly prepared there is minimal processing needed during their manufacture, thereby they truly reflect the chemical spectrum of the original herb, thus resulting in the purest form of medicine!
Herbal medicine uses the plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark or flowers for medicinal purposes and can treat an array of conditions such as digestive disorders, hormonal imbalance, allergies, skin conditions and neurological conditions. Plants have an innate intelligence; for example some herbs contain volatile oils that they use to protect themselves from insects and predators. These volatile oils can be extremely beneficial for us when they are ingested. Peppermint, for example, contains a volatile oil, menthol, which has a relaxing effect on the digestive organs, lessening spasms, cramping and bloating.
Liquid herbs are just that - they are herbs or plants from the earth. They have not been synthetically manufactured in a lab or been tampered with. Unlike pharmaceuticals, herbs do not have one targeted action or one specific area on the body that they are attacking or treating. They are holistically treating the whole body and the whole being on an energetic level as well as a physical level. A beautiful example of this is Thymus vulgaris (Thyme). It is antimicrobial and antibacterial. It is also nourishing and supportive of the immune system. And it’s a warming herb, too, so can assist with circulation issues! Amazing, isn't it, that one herb can support so many systems in the body!
Our bodies are designed to absorb and metabolise nutrients from these herbs, much the same as fruits and veggies, as opposed to a pharmaceutical drug that is designed to block or suppress mechanisms and processes in the body. This, in turn, produces more stress on the body as it’s trying so hard to detoxify this foreign substance! Furthermore, research has shown that antibiotics not only kill off the bad bugs, but they also destroy our good dudes, too. Herbs, on the other hand, support your body to eliminate these pathogens without disturbing the good guys! Woohoo!
Doesn’t quite make sense then, does it, to put something into your body that you probably cannot even pronounce over something that has come from Mother Nature brimming with vitality and energy to make your cells dance and promote your body’s innate healing process. I know which one I’d chose!
Research has demonstrated that a relationship exists between the rate and degree of dissolution of the phytochemical in a herbal liquid preparation and their absorption in the bloodstream. The advantage of herbal liquids is that the vital and active phytochemical constituents are already in that solution!!
Extracting The Magical Healing Powers Of Plants
Ethanol, or alcohol, has been used for hundreds of years to prepare herbal liquid formulations. This method has been found to be quite efficient for the extraction of the wide variety of phytochemicals found in medicinal plants and herbs. It also ensures that no part of the herb and its pharmacological actions are destroyed.
I know some of you are thinking what on earth?? Alcohol! How can that be good for me?
Well a 5 ml dose of herbal extract contains about as much ethanol as does approximately one sixth of a standard glass of beer or wine. The liver rapidly metabolises such a small amount of alcohol, thus its effect on the blood alcohol level might not even be measurable. Only the metabolising capacity of the liver is affected when much higher doses of ethanol are consumed. Furthermore, the body is capable of metabolising small doses of ethanol from ripe fruit and the natural fermentation of food. Plus with all those amazing detox tools you are using on a daily basis, and the beloved coffee enema, you’ll be flushing out all of that alcohol with all those other nasties! Sigh!
The Sum Of All Plant Aspects Or Elements Is Vital In Restoring Balance!
We all know and love turmeric for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties! Curcumin is the active constituent that is found in turmeric and has been isolated for use in supplements. These supplements are usually formulated to include black pepper or piperine to help with the absorption of the curcumin. If, however, you were to ingest fresh or dried turmeric, you wouldn’t need to add anything else to help with absorption as the constituents and compounds that make up the whole plant work in synergy together to elicit the desired effect. Herbs and plants are meant to be consumed as a whole entity, not with parts removed or isolated and other bits and pieces added in. That’s not the way nature intended us to consume them. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts... this could not be more true when it comes to herbal medicine!
But How Will Herbal Liquids Benefit Me?
The goals of Western Herbal Liquids for the individual are to:
- Raise vitality, which is central to the individual’s capacity to resist disease.
- Neutralise the sustaining causes that maintain the disease process. Chronic inflammation, for example, can be a sustaining cause.
- Promote and nourish the healthy functioning of bodily tissues, organs and systems. You can see why at Kultured Wellness we just love the healing and nutritive benefits that plants exhibit!
Quality Over Quantity!
Not all herbal liquids are created equally! Environmental factors such as climate (temperature, rainfall, exposure to sunlight) and soil quality affect levels of naturally occurring chemical constituents of herbs as does the process of harvesting, drying and preparing the plant material.
This is why at Kultured Wellness we only use the purest, most potent and highest quality liquid herbs we can source! Our Naturopaths prepare each individual herbal tonic with the utmost love and care to support and nurture you on your healing journey!
So now you know a little more about these incredible gifts from nature, that do so much to promote vitality, well-being and equilibrium in our bodies, you can embrace and incorporate them into your life!
References:
- Aziz A, Ahmad A, Setapar S et al 2018 Essential Oils : Extraction Techniques, Pharmaceutical and Therapeutic Potential : A review, Current Drug Metabolism
- Bernstein C, 2014 Antibiotics, probiotics and probiotics in IBD, Nutrition, Gut Microbiota and Immunity: Therapeutic Targets for IBD
- Bone, K 2003 A Clinical Guide to Blending Liquid Herbs, Elsevier, Australia
- Hechtmann L 2012 Clinical Naturopathic Medicine, Churchill Livingstone, Elsevier
- Meier, B 1991 The extraction strength of ethanol/water mixtures commonly used for the processing of herbal drugs, Planta Med, vol.57 (suppl 2)
- Mills S, Bone K 2000 Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy: Modern Herbal Medicine, Edinburgh, Churchill Livingstone
- Sarris J, Panossian A, Schweitzer I, Stough C 2011 Herbal Medicine for depression, anxiety and insomnia: a review of psychopharmacology and clinical evidence, European Neuropsychopharmacolgy, vol. 21, issue. 12, pg. 841-860